gardner



(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

W. F. GARDNER.

ELEGTETG TIME GONTEOLLTNG SYSTEM.

No. 307,287. Patented Oct. 28, 1884.

araaef,

(No Model.) y vs sheets-sheet 2.

W. F. GARDNER.

ELECTRIC TIME 00BUFROLLIBIG.` SYSTEM. No. 807,287. Patented Oct. 28,1884.

(N Model.) 3 sheets-sheet 3.I

W. F. GARDNER.

ELECTRIC TIME GONTEOLLTNG SYSTEM.

No. 307,287. Patented`0ot.-28,1884.

NMVENTUR I. arciaer N. PETERS, Phommhngmpher, wmshinguan` D. C.

Unirse Strains Partnr rsula..

WILLIAM FRANKLIN GARDNER, OF VASHlNGTON, DISTRICT OF CLUMBIA.

ELECTRIC TliVlE-CONTROLLlNG SYSTEM.

SPECIFICATIN forming part of Letters Patent No. 307,287, dated October28, 1884:.

Application filed April 23, 1884. (No model.)

,To ri-ZZ 207mm, it 71mg/ concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM F. GARDNER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Washington, in the District of Columbia., have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Time Controlling and CorrectingSystems, of which the following is a specification, reference being hadtherein to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to a system for automatically controlling clocksand sendingtimesignals, and is an improvement on the system granted tome in Letters Patent No. 287,015, October 23, 1883.

The invention consists, iirst, in a clock controlled by a transmittingcontrol-clock in an observatory or other main-line circuit, with meansfor controlling a series of clocks from a main line and on lines usedfor telegraphic, telephonie, and other purposes.

It further consists in an adjustable frictional control for the second,minute, and hour hands of said clocks.

It further consists in an adjustable push-bar for actuating the cams onthe arbors of the several hands of the clocks; and finally consists indetails'of construction and operation of the several parts, as will behereina'l'ter more fully set forth in the specification, and pointed outin the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is front elevation ofthe controlling-clock, showing the hand-train, adjustable cam-actuatingbar, the controlling-,magnet and its armature-lever, and a controlledclock. Fig. llL is a perspective View of the adjustable cam-actuatingbar, the cams, adjustable friction-springs on the dial or hands arbors,and the dial-train. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section through theminute-hand arbor and the adjustable friction-spring; Fig. 3, alongitudinal section through the seconds hand arbor and the adjustablefriction-spring; Fig. 4, a plan view ofthe seconds hand friction-spring;Fig. 5, a vertical section through one of the cams and the campush-point; Fig. 6, a detail perspective view of the lower part oi' oneof the cam push-points; Fig. 7 a front elevation of the cam-actuatingbar and cams with the hands train removed; Figs. 8 and 9, detail planview of the cams and modiiications of the adjustable friction-springs;Fig. 10, aperspective view of one form of adjustable friction-spring,the hand-arbor being shown in section; Fig. Il, a section on thelineman, Fig. 10; Fig. 12, a transverse section through the minute-handarbor and sleeve,showing another form of friction-spring.

rI he object of the invention is to provide a time controlling andcorrecting system in which any corrected and controlled clock may beused as a central transmitting-clock 'for a series of clocks in a localcircuit, and thus avoidthe use of an expensive primary transmitter.

The clocks herein described are not electric clocks, but are actuated byan independent dial-train entirely free from electric currents, so thatno matter whether the daily correction is made or not the clockscontinue to run. This system, like the one referred to in my formerpatent, is applicable to cities, railways, Steamship-lines, factories,Ste.

I will now proceed to describe the cam-actuating mechanism. rIhe i'rontplate, K, of the clock forms a support for said mechanism.. Thecam-actuating bar, which in my former patent was made in one piece, isnow made in two pieces or sections, I I', vertically adjustable withrelation to each other. The upper section, I, projects above the top ofplate K, and is provided with two arms, fi, which receive the free endof the armature-lever A and prevent any side movement or slipping ofsaid lever from positive contact with the bar. This upper Vsection isslotted, as at z3, to receive a guide-screw, z2, which passes into abloclz, e, attached to plate K. This guidescrew and slot insure apositive vertical movement and prevent any slipping 'or side movement ofsaid bar. A spring, s, engages with a hook, s2, on the cani-bar andreturns the bar to its normal position. At a point about midway thelength of the piece I said section is enlarged so as to form a circularor rectangular opening, I, within which the cam moves when the bar isactuated. Said section `is then continued downward in a straight formuntil it unites with the lower piece, l@ which overlaps it, and isslotted at ci, in which the adjust- ICO able set-screws .c enter, andsaid Screws enter the piece i. 3y means el" this slot and eeteerewe theadjustment ot' the bar is ett'ected, as it only necessary to unloosesaid screws and Slip the lowciI section np or down and then tighten npthe screws. This adjustment is valuable and important, in that acam-actuating bar can be adjusted to clocks ot' diil'ercnt size, (bylengthening or shortening the ban) and thus il aroid the necessity ol"making; a particular nii/.e cian-bar l'or each partieulareize oloeli.lhia lower Section also has an opening, l, like the one just described,and its lower end parties through a guideiblocl, e. The alot e in theupper `Section ot' the bar and the bloei( a limit the Stroke ot' thecambar, and tlnneby check all undue strain on pivote or any part oi' themovement. A55 the eambar ia raised above the plate l by means ol' thebloelio e a', there is no friction ol" the bar on said plate. Eachsection ot' the bar is provided with a detachable puslrpoint, I), toengage with the cams. These push-pointe are Secured to the bar bypinej', (or in any other suitablemannen) andare cutaway at the end andon their inner i'acc, ae shown in Fir. t3. eo as to leave the outer andlower portion, Z, tlat. The inner part just above is curved, as at o',to tit the groove at the top ot' the cam, the point o centeringY withthe center ot' the cam. The tlat part i ot' course extends Slightlybeyond the outer lace of the cam, and ie intended to etrilie a ledge orlip7 i', on the cam, (oido Fig. 5.) ao that when the cam has been struckby the puslrpoints the ilat part i will rest squarely against the lip otledge Z, the center o centering.;l in the cusp oi" thc groove. Thieprevents any forwarder backward movement ot' the cams, and therefore ot'the hands. The top ol' the cam may be dat and the part o ot' the barfiat, so that the cam may be struck squarely. l prefer, however7 theconstrue tion above described, lt. is prei'crrcd to have the push-pointsdetachable. eo that it' they become worn they can be rclilaced withoutthe necessity ol' making` a. new :a-mbar. `With the exeeption ol' theledge or lip Z/ on the cams, said cama are plain, and are substantiallythe the saine and operate the saine ae in my 'former patent.

l will now proceed to describe the frictionsprings on the minute andsecondnhande arbor, and which Aform an important and essential eleinentot' my device. The cams are mounted on the seconde and minute hande`arbore and are turned by the pnslrpointe. Thin` action, which centersthe ctms, also turns the hande to a'predetermined Zerovpoint, asexplained i in Patent No. 207,015, and thie` movement carries the handswith them. lt ifi essential that an adjustable friction be placed onsaid arbore, eo as to prevent the hande being carried beyond thezeropoint, or, in other words, to bring1 about exact coincidence ol' thehande, and prevent the came and hands moving,` too far either te theright or leit't, aceordiiiigas the clock ie fast or slow. To accomplishthis result l have coiniit-incted the cams, puelr pointe, andi'riei'ionfspringeJ aeehownin theaccompanying drawinge.

ln Fig. 3 the lrietion-Springv ior the seconds hand coneielii o t'apiece oi" metal. lil, peri'orated centrally and passing over the arbor not eaid hand, and its curved, ae there AShown, and has at oneextrel'nily a slot, in. The plate lll is ilat, and has a pin, in, whichentera the slotm ofthe aprilie. This engagement ot theepring and Slotcauses the parte` to more in unison, and Serves another pnrpoae. olpreventinel the Spring M l'rom becoming',disengaged antislipping` oil'the llat plate M4 lt will be understood that the Spring and came` movewith the hands arbore. The curved part .lil ahnte agai het a collar, c,integral with theeleevep. through which the arbor n passes. The outerextremity oi' the arbor n isScrew-threaded to receive a nut, g, which isin contact with a washer, 7i, at the end ot'sleevep. Il" it is desiredat any time to increase the friction ol' the eprintr on the arbor, andtherefore against. the collar c, it is only necessary to tighten np nutg, which presses lorward waeher Il, and thie in turn presses forwardSleeve p and collar c against Spring` M and expands said Spring,cantine" a greater degree ot' friction to be exerted by it and plate Mon the arbor. this leesens the friction. Thie` adjustment is ol" coursevery slight, the turning ol' nut y the hundredth part ot' an inchgli/'infr all the adjustinent neually necessary. This friction madeVnecessary by changea ot temperature and power employed. The spring iiion the min` ntevhand arbor i passes through the plate K. @ne end abntsagainst the bridge-plate ii', the opposite end beingsecnred to a collar.i, made integral with or attached to the cam li". The outer end ot'arbor r screw-tlireadcd to receive a nut, q", and washer Qi. This waehcrreste aoainst the square shoulder i" ot' the sleeve if of wheel ik?, sothat when the nut gf is tightened the washer preteen against ehonlderr,and this presses inward the sleeve r2, cam F', and collar t, thuscompressine` Spring S, and therefore incrcafiiing` the friction on thearbor.

Figs. 8 and Q Show Vforms ot'siprintfs eeenrcd tothe cams on the eccondehand arbor, the adjnstmcnt being' made by turningIv an eccentrichead-screw, nt'.

In Fie'. 10 l have shown a. bent Spring` Se cured in ashonlder on theseconde hand arbor and Sleeve, Said apri ne bein adj usted by 1n canelof a Set-eerew. j. and nntj.

Fig. 1l shows the Shoulders cut in theeleeve and arbor ot' the Secondshand.

Fig. 12 shown the form ol spring; id iue'tnient for the minuten hand inwhich a bent spring, d, entere a elet in the sleeve and bears on thearbor, the adinetnient being made by a Set- Screw, c. which paaaesthrough the Sprin'r.

Havingl now described the cam bars, the cams, and friction-springe, Iwill describe the The reverse ot' I OO auxiliary transmitting andcontrolling mechanism. I will premise by stating that the cambar isacted upon by an armature-lever, A', of magnet B, as in my formerpatent. The arm A2, Fig. 1, which supports this magnet B, is a part ofthe metal frame on which the clock-movement is mounted, although it mayform a part or outward projection of plate K. Secured to the horizontalarm A2 is a vertical bar, A, to which the armature-lever A' is pivotedat a'. Secured to the standard A is a bar of vulcanite, C, to which anupper and lower contact-spring, b b', are fastened by screws orotherwise, as desired. The spring b has two projecting pins or arms,il', which pass aroundy the lever A and hold the bar evenly in position.This spring has also a platinum contact-point, b2, near the extremity ofits free end. The lower spring", b', is provided with a platinumcontact-plate, b3, in a local circuit of a corrected clock or series ofclocks, but one of which, T, is here shown. These springs are placedimmediately below and in the path of the armature-lever A', so that whensaid lever is depressed the springs are brought into metallic contactand a local circut closed through clock T, or series of clocks, andthese clocks are simultaneously controlled at the same time and in thesame manner.

It is a desired feature in time-controlling and clock-correctin gsystems that any primary controlled clock may be a controlling-clock fora series of clocks in a local circuit, thus avoiding the use of a largenumber of expensive primary transmittingclocks. It will be seen from theforegoing that this has been attained by my device, and that anycontrolled clock outside of an observatory may be a transmittin g-cloclrfor a series, or may be used as a central transmitter, and all theclocks for hundreds of miles be corrected in one second, as isaccomplished in my former patent.

Having thus described myinvention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a time controlling and correcting system, a controlled clock in anobservatory or other main-line circuit, provided with a magnet andarmature-lever, as described, to actuate the controlling mechanism, saidlever acting upon contact-springs in a local circuit of a series ofclocks in such manner as to form a transmitting-clock of' suchcontrolled clocks, and thereby automatically and simultaneously controlthe clock or clocks in the local circuit, substantially as and for thepurpose set forth.

2. In a time controlling and correcting system, a controlled clock themovement of which is not actuated by electric impulses, said-clockhaving a magnet in a controllingcircuit, the armature of saidmagnetoperating a cani-actuating bar in said controlled clock, andcontactsprings for closing a circuit in a series of local controlledclocks, whereby the first controlled clock becomes a transmittingclockfor the series, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. In a controlled clock, as described, the combination, with' a magnet,B, and its armature-lever, arranged to actuate the controllingmechanism, of contact-springs secured to an insulating-bar in such amanner that the said springs will be brought into contact when themagnet is energized, to complete a circuit to one or more secondarycontrolled clocks, as and for the purpose set forth.

4. In a time-.controlling system, a controlled clock provided with acam-actuating bar made in sections adjustablysecured to each other,substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

5. In a time-controlling system, a clock provided with a vertical andadjustable camactuating bar, said bar having two pins or arms, t', toreceive the free end of the armature-lever, substantially as and for thepurpose set forth.

6. In a time-controlling system, a clock having a vertical cam-actuatingbar made in tWo or more sections and slotted to receive guide andadjusting screws, as set forth.

7. In a tiine-controlling-system, a clock having a cam-actuating barprovided with detachable push-points, as and for the purpose set forth.

8. Inatime-controlling system, a clock having a earn-actuating barprovided with pushpoints the ends of which sin'iultaneously strike twoseparate points on the cams, substantially as set forth.

9. In a time-controlling system, a clock provided with a cam-actuatingbar', said bar having circular or rectangular portions Z2, within whichthe cams move when acted upon by the push-points, as set forth.

10. In a time-controlling system, a clock provided with a cam-actuatingbar and pushpoints therefor, each point having a flat edge, Z, andpoints o, as and for the purpose set forth.

11. In a'time-controllng system, a clock provided with cams F F', havinga projection, lip, or ledge, Z', as and for the purpose set forth.

12. In a time-controlling system, a clock, the hands arbors of which areprovided with adjustable friction-springs, and cams acted upon bypush-bars, as and for the purpose set forth.

13. In a time-controlling system, a clock, the seconds hand arbor ofwhich is provided with a cam actuated by a push-bar, and an adjustablefriction-spring, M, having a slot, m, as and for the purpose set forth.

14. In a time-controlling system, the seconds hand arbor of a clock,provided with a cam actuated by a push-bar, and the adjustable spring M,having slot m, in combination with the fiat plate M', having the pin m',as and for the purpose set forth.

15. In a time-controlling system, a clock the minutes hand arbor ofwhich is provided with a cam actuated by a push-bar, and an adjustablespiral friction -spring, S, as described.

IOO

IIO

16. In a elook n intime-Controlling system, magnet B and itsamnatinedever, the insu- A Jdie Combination, with the hands arborsprolatingbzn' G, and contact-springs in the path vided withscrewthi-ended ends, :L nut, :und ofthe mniatnre-lever, substantiallynsundi'oi adjustable 'frictionsnpi'ings, of the nlovdble i the purposeset forth. 15

5 sleeves moved i'oi'wzu-d :uid backward by said 'In testimony Whereofaffix niysignzdxni'e in nut7 whereby the mijnstinent of the springs on lpresence of two Witnessies. the arbore is effected, suhfnntiully es undfor WUIMI FRANKLIN Mmmm. the purpose seb forth.

17. In n time Controlling 3nd oerreei'ing .Vitiiesses: Io System7 theCombination, with independent l EMMA M. GILLETT,

oloek-inoven ents, oi' :L cz'nn-zuftnzd'ing bzw', the I J. G. KROHR.

